Hay-fork.



Patented Apr. l5, I902.

[NVENYOR I 4 7619401,

s. A; NICHOLS.

HAY FORK (Appligation filed. Sept. 80, 1901.)

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SETH A. NICHOLS, OF FOWVLERVILLE, MICHIGAN.

HAY-=FORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 697,742, dated April15, 1902.

Application filed September 30, 1901. Serial No. 77,040, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, SETH A. NICHOLS, acitizen of the United States,residing at Fowlerville, county of Livingston, State of Michigan, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Hay-Forks; and Ideclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to hay-forks, and has for its object animprovement in that class of hay forks in which the bundle of hay isgrasped and lifted by grapple-tines which remain in close liftingengagement therewith and are held in position by a system of links untilthe bundle of hay has been lifted and conveyed properly, and then bybending the linkage the grapple-tines are spread and the bundle of haydrops from the tines by its own weight. 7

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows the fork in elevation. Fig. 2 shows thefork in perspective.

A frame of two uprights7 7and a cross-bar 8 are rigidly secured to themain bar 2. At the middle part of the cross-bar 8 is secured thelifting-clevis 9. Said frame is made of strips of iron or strap-iron.Two strips A A are bent to form three sides of a rectangle, with theirends turned outward, and are secured together with their correspondingparts parallel and held a small distance apart by interposed parts. Themain bar 2 is composed of two flat pieces B B, laid side byside, withtheir ends secured between the ends of the pieces A A. The pieces B Bare bent outward at their centers to form the eye 15. A bar of iron atof about the thickness of the two pieces 13 B is placed as adistance-piece between the cross-pieces of the strips A A. The bar a,together with the cross-pieces of the strips A A, between which it issecured, constitute the cross-bar 8. The vertical portions of the stripsA A, spaced from each other by the bar a and main bar 2, constitute theuprights 7 7 of the frame. Grapple-tines 3 and 4, each of which has acurved part 5 below the main bar 2 and a curved and somewhat-divergingpart 6 above thelniaiu bar 2, are pivotally secured between the ends ofthe strips A A. The ends 6 of the grapple-tines are joined by threelinks 10 11 12, and the links 10, 11, and 12 are pivotally securedtogether and to the ends of the grapple-tines. The link 10 extendsbetween the two strips A A, where they form the uprights 7 7, and thelink 11 and 12 are each composed of two strips, with the end of links 10and the end of the-grapple-tines pivoted between them. The links 11 and12 are pivoted to the link 10 a short distance from the uprights 7 7,and the joints from stops which allow the link 10 to turn somewhat fromthe horizontal, but prevent it form turning very much. To the middlepart of the link 10 is secured an eye 13, to whichis knotted thetrip-rope 14. This passes down through an eye 15 in the middle of thebar 2. The cross-bar 8 is so located with reference to the main bar 2and with reference to the ends of the grapple-tines 6 that when the bar10 is in its most elevated position and is parallel to the cross-bar 8the pivots 17 and 18 are just above a straight line connecting thepivots 19 and 20 and the linkage has just passed the center, so thatstrain on the lower ends of the grapples 5 produced by the weight of thehay tends to throw the pivots l9 and 20 toward the cross-bar 8 and toforce the middle link 10 upward and bring it into contact with the bar aof the cross-bar 8, holding the parts in stable condition, from which,however, they can be easily forced by a slight pull on the cord 14,which will pull down the bar 10, and this easily pulls down, because thelinkage can yield at any one of the pivotal points 19 20 or 17 18 andwill yield at one of them, pulling down either 17 or 18 below thehorizontal line from 19 to 20, and the weight of the bundle of hayimmediately opens the forks and the hay drops.

What I claim is- 1. In a hay-fork, the combination of pivotedgrapple-tines provided with projections extending above the pivot, alink pivoted to each of said projections, an intermediate link pivotedbetween the first-mentioned 1inks, a guide and stop arranged to allowthe linkage to pass a straight line uniting the joints of the linkage tothe grapple-tines, and means for stopping the linkage immediately abovethe straight line.

2. In a hay-fork, the combination of pivoted grapple-tines provided withprojections extending above the pivot, a link pivoted to each of saidprojections, an intermediate link pivoted between the first-mentionedlinks, a guide adapted to constrain the movement of said intermediatelink, and to allow it to turn to a small, and prevent it turning to alarge extent, and a stop arranged to allow the linkage to pass astraight line uniting the joints of the linkage to the grapple-tines,and means for stopping the linkage immediately above the straight line.

3. In a hay-fork, the combination of two parallel strips shaped in theform of a frame having two uprights and a cross-bar, the two stripsbeing spaced from each other at the top, a bar extending between theends of said uprights, the ends of said bar being secured between saidstrips to space them from each other at their ends, tines pivoted tosaid frame and having extensions, links pivoted to said extensions,connected with each other and guided by a part extending between saidstrips where they form said uprights. l

4. In a hay-fork, the combination of two parallel strips shaped in theform of a frame having two uprights and a cross-bar, the ends of saiduprights being bent extend laterally from said uprights,the two stripsbeing spaced from each other at the top, a bar extending between theends of said uprights, the ends of said bar being secured between saidstrips to space them from each other attheir ends, tines pivoted betweenthe laterally-extending portions of said strips and having extensions,links pivoted to said extensions, connected with each other and guidedby a part extending between said strips where they form said uprights. l

5. In a hay-fork, the combination of two parallel strips shaped in theform of a frame having two uprights and a cross-bar, the two stripsbeing spaced from each other at the top, a bar consisting of two pieceslying parallel and side by side extending between the ends of saiduprights, the ends of said bar being secured between said strips tospace them from each other at their ends, the constituent pieces of saidbar being bent outward to form an eye, tines pivoted to said frame andhaving extensions, links pivoted to said extensions, connected togetherand guided by a part extending between said strip where they form saiduprights, and a trip-rope secured to said links and extending throughsaid eye.

6. In a hay-fork, the combination of two parallel strips shaped in theform of a frame having two uprights and a cross-bar, said strips beingspaced from each other at the top and bottom, tines pivoted on oppositesides of said frame and having upward extensions, links pivoted to saidextensions and a link extending between said strips where they form theuprights and pivoted to the first-mentioned links, the intermediate linkbeing provided with stops adapted to prevent its turning too far from ahorizontal position by contacting the frame.

7. In a hay-fork, the combination of two parallel strips shaped in theform of a frame having two uprights and a cross-bar, said strips beingspaced from each other, at the top and bottom, tines pivoted on oppositesides of said frame and having upward extensions, parallel bars pivotedupon opposite sides of each of said extensions, and a link extendingbetween said strips where they form the uprights and having its endspivoted between said parallel bars.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses.

SETH A. NICHOLS.

Witnesses:

MAY E. KOTT,

O. E. JENNINGS.

